Workplace Feng Shui

Work place Feng Shui energy

We spend one-third of our life to self-actualise our dream in our workplace. Yet the irony is office feng shui does not gain enough attention as home feng shui. The world is getting smaller with info technologies and for business to thrive is no longer restricted within local context but on a global market place. Read on to see how to improve on your workplace energy that may give your business an upper hand over your competition.

So what is office or business feng shui?

It is the Enviro Management of “physical attributes” and the “invisible energy” within the office. Physical attributes consist of external and internal environment. Feng shui external environment are the shape/height of building, road/train infrastructure, directions, shapes and sizes that influence the quality and quantity of either positive or negative energy leading to your office. In the 21st century the “speed” of energy is amplified compared with road infrastructure thousands of years ago. Look at the picture above the MRT track running from NE is ushering earth energy into SW region, currently the hottest zone in Period 8 2004-2023! Today we have expressways, tunnels, Rapid Transit trains, railways all changing the energy surrounding us. For easy understanding let’s take an example that you intend to set up an office in sub urban area and thanks to lady luck suddenly there is an announcement that the government intend to build a MRT station within 1 km from your building. Not only does your property value appreciates but you will find recruitment of staff easier. Although you may think that this is just pure luck that they are developing this region, however in feng shui context there is this calculation on Di Yun 地运 and Tian Yun 天运 or the Luck Period of Earth forces based on Xuan Kong Flying Star principles where given a time frame certain location perform better than the rest. Currently we are into Period 8 2004 to 2023 where North-East region is flourishing and overlooking water in the South-West direction is great for wealth activation. Just to share with you a hot tip, the next period 9 2024 to 2043 “South” regime properties is going to be hot and “North” facing waters are great for business revenue. So as an investor or renter in commercial properties you may consider period 9 as your point of entry.

Roads-“water” leading towards your building

Besides the luck or destiny of a particular location within the country one have to look into the road infrastructure that leads to your office. Most people think that getting an office in the prime city area is always the best choice if budget allows. However have your consider the business or service that you are offering? You see getting an office in a prime area will be a good choice if your business is a mass-consume service or product for example Retail Banking. However what happen if your product or service is a very specific niche and customers need to look for you instead. Take for instance having a health-care facility catering to the rich and retired? Do you think you need to look for such a place in the prime business area? In feng shui this is call the Yin and Yang 阴阳principle. In a nutshell it means if you are catering to a specific niche go for a “yin” location where there are less traffic, more greenery etc. Mass-consumption product or service should have their regional headquarter located in “yang” location. The principle is simple yet many businesses missed the mark of getting the right office. Some choose the location based on their CEO birth profile (八字) or to match the five element of their business which is inaccurate.

Building shapes

How about the shape of the building? It affects workplace energy as well. In today’s modern architectural design we have cutting holes in buildings like The Guanzhou Circle in southern China or Opus Tower in Dubai or a conical shaped building like The Shard in London.
Well if just started out on an ambitious business idea and want rapid growth during the first 3 years of business than you can consider the shape of buildings that belongs to the “Fire” element which is basically Sharp pointed buildings that looks like a triangle. One good example is the Russia Tower in Moscow. However these buildings are more like “do or die” kind of venture meaning you either succeed as a hero or perish a zero.
Technically speaking based on traditional feng shui teachings buildings should be square-like in shape. Although this may look old-fashioned and outdated in today’s skyscraper landscape; this is the most preferred shape because it signifies stability. Square shape building belongs to the “Earth”element and is suited to businesses that are well established for say more than 10 years. Rock solid and stable. This is contrary to what most people perceive that square shaped building are meant for earth-related business like real estate developers or contractors. Having an office in this kind of architecture emits a slow and steady energy (that wins the race). One cannot expect the work place to show double digit growth in business and profits every year!
Another interesting architectural shape is “Water” Element, one classic example is The Aqua Tower in downtown Chicago. It has nice curves and wavy in design. This particular shape is helpful for offices within the building to build rapport, relationships, networking and blossom peach 桃花. Thus if your business is people-business (where most businesses are nowadays) for example recruitment, wedding, real estate, consultancy, then you can consider this shape.
Next issue we will look into the feng shui aspects on the internal structure of a building. This will includes the lifts, elevators, stairway, corridors. Find out for yourself is it true that if your office door faces the Lift is really that bad?